Green Grass And Cute Kittens!

Went to check on my boy today. Apollo pulled a muscle due to lack of exercise, LOL just my luck!! I also pulled a muscle (well it's sore) and it's my back!! Ugh I honestly think that is the worst pain ever!! The boy and I gotta get on the mend now haha.Oh boy. Well anyway on a happy note, look at the pretty grazing pictures I took of him!! :

 He's gained weight and lost a bit of muscle !!! :-(. Gotta work hard once he's good to go to get it back.
On a side note, one of the barn cats had a litter of kittens!!!!!!! (the barn owner is not too happy haha!!) She had 3 kittens, they're SOOO cute!! Ugh I want to take one home but  I already have a cat at home. I'm trying to convice the boyfriend to take one, just so I can hold it and play with it haha. I took a couple pictures, they're not the best because it was dark and it's a camera phone but ahh.. whatever. They are 4 weeks old, and there is a black & white, grey & white and orange & white.

I want the black&white one, ahh too bad!!

The Canine and The Equine Meet!!!

So I took my dog the other day to meet my horse and well the other horses there -plus he had the freedom of running free in the open fields unlike living in the city. I wasn't sure how this was going to go, because we do have police horses and once we were passing by them my little dog started to bark and kind of growl at them. Lol you could imagine the horses looking down at him like "WHAT could you possibly do to ME!?!?"
Before I took him to meet my horse, I went to the horses outside that were close to the fence. I honestly should of video taped it!!!!!! but no camera :-(  As we inch closer to the horses my dogs eyes were literally big circles O_O WHAT IS THAT!?! and the horses on the other side of the fence were looking at him and trying to sniff him. My dog stood up on his hind feet and was trying to smell them, one of the horses got closer to Saba (my dog) and my dog literally jumped 4 feet back!!! LOOOL. But his curiosity got the best of him and he came back to sniff the horse, this time he got closer and seemed to be okay with it.
That was relief to me, and went inside for Saba to meet Apollo, this time Saba didn't care nor did my horse( he's use to dogs anyway). I took them both out to the grass, so the horse can eat and Saba can walk around. My dog literally looked like he was in paradise!! He absolutely LOVED being there!! I can't blame him, after all he is a dog and where we go is just green huge fields.
I honestly think my dog is a natural barn dog ;-P.

The Best Guy

You know sometimes the best guy to have for a girl is a horse. Or whatever animal - as long as it's an animal. You know why? because they say nothing, nothing at all!!
They are always there for you when you need them, I truly cannot believe how faithful animals are to us. You can punish them for misbehaving, call them retards but at the end of the day they may muzzle you for feeling down and they really try to comfort you without the words, which is just perfect!
They don't need any cues to be giving you love - now animals, they are always so loving. They always try so hard to make their owners pleased. That is my horse and honestly he deserves a big round of applause and big FAT juicy carrot for when my human bf is too much of a macho man to comfort or say the right things or needs a darn clue to give me a hug.

You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, my dirty faced horse! :-)

So I was wondering, do you guys have a similar bond to your animal? If so, what kind of animal? Please do tell :-)

It Fits!!!!!!!!!!!!

I went to go see my boy yesterday and finally get his saddle fitted!! woohooo the new saddle I got for him RIGHT before he went lame on me!! -_- LOL.
Soo goood news my saddle fits my boy FOR NOW since he lost his muscle and gained a  bit of weight. When I start working him though, I will have to get it re-fitted and probably get it changed to make the saddle a bit wider. Oh and it also fits me ;-P!!!! She said I was so close  to  getting it custom made for me ( since I have long legs and need long leg flaps on the saddle!!) Thank god, I did fit in it because then I would need to pay maybe about $1200.00 ?? for a custom made saddle. Which is crazzzzzy since the saddle I got now costs $1100.00!!! ( Yes, the equine world is quite expensive.....)
Well, an update on my boy, he is stiff lol since he was trapped in a cage for 2 weeks with no movement! I have been stretching him and I guess it will just get better with time and more and more exercise.
So on Friday I am fiinally going to get on him but I'm not going to give him our normal workout, just mostly walk.
Excited!! :-D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh The Heartbreak!

Not much of an update on Apollo, except that he is indeed healthy but I unfortunately CANNOT ride him until I get my brand new saddle fitted on him. Poo :-(. I have to wait until the saddle fitter can get back to me so we can schedule for him to come out! I called him on Friday and hopefully he will call me back soon! I am so eager to get back on my boy and get back into shape (both him and I). This is why a second horse is needed LOL.

Anyway thought I would rant today about my FAVOURITE riding boots that I so DESPERATELY want!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! First let me say that I have been trying to look for a nice showing boot since I have a really icky old pair. Then my eyes crossed the Ariat Monacos and angels started singing. LOL. Let me show you these godly beautiful leather field boots that I've been drooling over:

Price you may ask? $800 plus taxes............................................................................................................................... LOL. I know they are a piece of leather and shouldn't be this price but what the hey, I'm a girl and I do love my boots. So I have been dreaming about these boots since July 2010 and recently I read a couple of bad reviews, here's one of them:
"These boots are gorgeous, but the leather is like glove leather, and paper-thin. I went to my local tack store and found that they fit right out of the box, dead perfect, just like custom, and looked amazing. Many people have just purchased them at my facility, and I'd started saving money for them...but, sadly, they are wearing out SUPER FAST!! One lady is on her second pair; she had the first pair only 6 months before they wore out--seriously, holes so big on the inside calf they were unsalvageable. However, she loved them so much she bought a second pair. Everyone else has worn them only a few times and then become extremely alarmed at how fast they were wearing out...so they are back to schooling in their old boots, and the beautiful new Monacos sit in their box, waiting for the shows. Upside: the zippers are FANTASTIC! A HUGE improvement over the old Ariat zippers. If they can just work out getting these boots to last like customs, they will win me over in a heartbeat. Of course, it's probably great for their business that women are buying a pair every 6 months...too bad I can't afford to do that"

 And then I  thought "Oh No :-(  but but but  but but why???" Then I read this:

"These are some of the nicest field boots I've ever seen and are very popular on the A show circuit. The stretch panels on the inside allow for a truly custom fit and the ankles are not bulky. I've gotten so many compliments on these boots! There is barely any break in time... that being said...keep these boots for showing and not for daily use! The calfskin leather is so soft that they will not hold up well to everyday use. The inner calf will wear from the friction against the saddle and horse. Well worth the price tag, custom look and fit from a stock boot."

 

So, maybe maybe it is possible that I can get them! Since all I want to do is use them for showing purposes and wouldn't  be schooling hard core in them since I have a pair of schooling boots which are Ariats and are fantastic!  Ahhhhhhhh what do I do? I still really want them even if they wear fast LOL ! I'm such a girl, I'll spend the  money even if they're not !00%.

Untzz UNttzz Untttzzza

So my boy got his shoes on today and this is basically what he did:

This is not my horse, unfortunately I couldn't cam him running around. But it was very similar to this. He was singing IMMM FREEEEEE, MY LEGS WORK!!!! and then he rolled. LOL so I gots me a dirty healthy horse now.
Farrier said I can get back to riding him in 3 days!!!! :-D. All is well.

Almost Done!!

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo....... I THINK MY HORSE IS DONE HIS ABSCESS!!!! WOOOOOOOHOOOOOO :-D. Untz untz untz untz ( <------ lame beats lol)
I'v been checking on him this week and on wednesday I picked up his hoof and to my surprise, I did not see any pus, so I went to smell it....NO SMELL! I smelt it a few times just to make sure but still no icky smell. Abscesses are fairly stinky, so one would know whether they have an abscess or not.
I wrapped his hoof and thought " I'll come tomorrow and re-check just in case before calling any farrier ( a person who trims/shoes horses feet). So thursday came along, checked his hoof, NO SMELL AND NO PUS!! UNTZ UNTZ LOL. Then I called the vet and asked him and he said I should wait 3 days before I put shoes on, so today is the third day and unfortunately I cannot be there tonight, so I asked a couple of girls to check for me, but I have a feeling my boy is done.
I already called a farrier (he sounds very good) so he can talk to my vet and find out what my horse really needs. So much closer to riding my beast!
Back to work now :-).

Rainy Day

It's been crazy these past couple of days, honestly its been work, horse, interviews and then trying to find time for myself/boyfriend/friends which is a small amount.
Well I found time to go see my boy today and quickly tend to his hoof. Anyway I had a little meltdown when we got there and right away I had to walk away from my horse, went outside to sit in front of the outside arena(some of the horses are being turned out in there so the grass an grow in for them in their own paddocks) to call my bf and just spill everything ( honestly, girls have to find a guy that knows how to comfort and knows what to say to a girl to calm her down, my boyfriend is the best with words and how to say things :-), which I truly appreciate!)
Well, as I'm talking to him telling him everything and crying, all the horses were coming up to me to comfort me as well. Honestly, you won't know how special a bond between human and animal can be until you meet a horse. They all were taking turns with me, putting their nuzzles on my head, licking my hand and it made me :-). It was almost like they were saying "everything's alright, no need to cry."
So I finally calmed down with the help of the bf and the horses out in the arena, went back inside and tended to my boys foot. He still has an abscess and I was thinking that I should call the vet and tell him to switch meds.
Fortunately, the vet was there visiting another horse and asked him after he was done to speak to me. He agreed on switching meds and told him if I should give him the rest of the 1st meds back. I went looking for them and once I found them, I gave them to him. He looked at the date of when I got them which was on April 20th, and then he told me these pills should have been done TODAY and there were still plenty inside. I sighed and got a little annoyed. The vet said " well maybe that is why he still has his abscess, these weren't finished". Well, of course!! Honestly, my goal to to move to a barn where communication is key, where they know what meds to feed, how much and when. UGH, I honestly wished I lived at the barn for that week because I would have given them to him day and night. 
We got an new person working at the barn today, so after I was done speaking to the vet, I went straight to the new worker told her she is the ONLY person allowed giving him the meds, told her when and how much. Let's hope they are actually given!!
That's my little rant today... ;-)

Everything Happens For A Reason.

Hmm... well lets start this off with a saying that is commonly said " things happen for a reason" now whether you believe that or not, doesn't really matter to me because I do, and I just wanted to explain to everyone  what has happened and what it has lead to. I have always thought this way, but my thinking was always that the reason was a good one. It doesn't  matter with all the ugly you have been through because the light is right at the end of the tunnel, and once you get there you realize phew! all those things HAD to happen so I could finally see this, so I can finally realize all this bad was leading to good. You almost appreciate the bad/ugly because if it never happened you would of never known something, you would of ended up worse than it could of been. So let me explain:
If my boy never got his cut on his hoof from the farrier, he would of never got an infection, I would of never found out about a natural foot trimmer who would then take off his shoes, if she would of never took off his shoes, he wouldn't of abscessed easily since he had a pad on , if he never stomped his hoof on the ground, i probably would of never gotten an xray because I would of thought it was just a simple abscess, if  I didn't get that xray, my boy could of been put down lets just say maybe a year from now?
Oh boy, oh boy am I glad all this ugly had happened even though it was tough and I just wanted him to heal. I am so glad I got that xray which told us that indeed he does have an abscess that HAS to drain out asap, and that his bone in his hoof is slightly rotated which could be of the way he was trimmed or his grain. So now he is completely off of his grain and will be getting special shoes once the abscess drains to put his bone back in place. My god, am I thankful, because if this wasn't treated, his bone could of completely rotated and started to protrude from his hoof, which would the lead to put the horse down.
Thankfully, it has only slightly rotated and it can be fixed by putting a shoe on for now. In a couple of months the vet said I can re-try going barefoot but right now he needs them. So once the abscess drains, shoes are put on and he starts walking better (which should be right when he gets the shoes),  I can ride again.
Anyway, thank god for all the ugly in the beginning, it saved my horse! :-)
Have you guys ever experienced something similar? When, you thought all hope was to be lost but at the end you realized that it all lead you to somewhere?

90% Of All Horse People = Crazy!

Hello, Hello, Hello ! :-) lol
Another long day at work today :-(. Yesterday I also worked but managed to go right after to check on my horse. He's doing okay, pus is still draining from his hoof but he is walking much better, I must say though a lot of horse people are sooooooooooooooo dramatic. Jeeeeeeze....... I don't even know where to start. The vet apparently was concerned and told the barn manager that he thinks he needs an xray to see what's going on ( arrgggghhhhh money sucking bastards) what the hell does he mean what is going on?! Pus is draining from his hoof, most likely an abscess BUT NO, he must check to see. Well anyway word spread around the barn ( lol the barn is technically like high school all over again, filled with girls/women who like to gossip and tell everyone what's going on with everyone's horse and who's doing what, and what they did at the shows etc. I try and stay out of it and not spread gossip to everyone) . Well anyway, I get text messages and people coming up to me saying "ohh you HAVE to xray, you just have to. It doesn't matter what it costs, you HAVE to do it! " OR WHAT! I don't care about my horse? right and therefore I am a bad horse owner.... these people are the vets cheer leaders honestly, helping them make whatever money they can. Like I don't know why they can't see that I know my horse, last time my horse had an abscess for 3 weeks! and none of the topical treatments were working, only when I gave my horse antibiotics the stuff cleared up. Basically the vet is worried because he hasn't seen an abscess this long... it's only been a week and a half since the abscess started and NOW he is on antibiotics.
So I don't know, now I am kind of stuck with going with the xray BUT not because these people are pushing me into it but because I recently thought of something that MIGHT be a reason for his lameness and the puss etc. Couple weeks ago when someone was disinfecting his hoof, it was too strong for him, so he freaked out and started stomping his hoof around to try and get the stuff off which caused him to bleed. Now, do I think he fractured it? No, he might have bruised it but that is all. Now, I am only going to xray for this reason and have a piece of mind that he did nothing wrong to himself.
Note to everyone: Stay out of the horse world, it is crazy like actually lol. It is mostly filled with over dramatic people ( not all though, I know a couple horse people who are actually cool but most of them have moved to other barns, I MISS YOU ALL SANE PEOPLE!! )

What a Relief!!

Back from an exhausting day of work !! :-( . Wish I could of gone to check up on my boy but unfortunately I worked basically the whole day and the barn is literally an hour away from me!!   I know what the hell am I thinking having a horse an hour away from me, but the barn is pretty nice and a good price so my goal is to move closer to him, which should be soon lol ;-P.
Anyway I went to Apollo yesterday, walked him around, cleaned his stall and groomed him. The barn manager told me that the vet was in de-worming everyone and was concerned about Apollo's foot and will be calling me to talk to me. Well well well... Mr. Vet I won't be needing your x-ray bullshit or any expensive testing to see what's wrong with my horse because to my relief HE HAS AN ABSCESS!! phew... literally phew! lol
Honestly when I un-wrapped his foot and saw the pus, I literally thought " Thank god, that it is just a silly infection!! and nothing serious " So now the boy can, well HAS to be on turnout since the walking will help drain the infection and someone HAS to be there every day soaking his foot in Epsom salt to help drain it as well. Thankfully  I have lovely boarders at the barn that are willing to help out anyone if they can't make it to the barn or can't take care of their horse, so phew! I will probably get this lovely boarder maybe a $50 buck gift certificate to a tack shop, since she has a horse as well and she is always willing to help me out (she's my barn angel lol )
I will probably contact the vet just to get antibiotics for him and get him healed faster  (last time his abscess lasted 3 weeks!!!!) and so I can get back into riding and concentrating on showing this summer!!!!! Woohooooo.
Will be going up to the barn tomorrow to walk him and soak his foot. YAY my horse is OKAY!!! :-D

Still Waiting........

So I haven't been up since friday to see my boy. i usually give him the weekend off.  I'll probably head up to the barn tomorrow to check up on him and see how he's doing. I hope he's walking better at least.
Anyway today my boyfriend says to me how a part of me ( muscle that I use when riding) looks different this of course is due to the fact that I am not riding, I haven't been for about a month now since my boy has been off.
This honestly frustrates me since I like how fit I was lol and I just miss riding. I really don't want the time to come when Apollo is feeling better and I can sit on his back again and start huffing and puffing because I haven't been ridng lol. My horse is not THAT hard to ride but he does need somewhat of an experienced rider and some days he just needs a lot of leg, depends.
And this also means that our jumping training has to be put on a hold and when we start back into it, we will basically have to start from the very basics. :'( tear.
 We were doing so great lately and this just had to happen. lol oh well hopefully he'll remember something and we won't have to start back from square one.
This was us back in October 2010, since then we have improved greatly but I don't have any videos since then because my boyfriend hasn't been up and wasn't able to record anything.
Anyway I miss this....
This was 2 feet and we were still doing 2 feet just so we can practice getting straighter towards and after the jump, get a nicer take off spot and for him to get his correct lead. Can't wait to start doing 4 feet with him, which shouldn't be a problem with him since he's such a tall boy! :-D   

Come on everyone, help me get my horse better so I can start jumping again lol. Let's all pray LOL. ;-) Just wish him a speedy recovery ASAP before I start going crazy.

Apollo's Neighbour

Just got back from the barn today. My boy is still lame but getting better :-).
Turned him out in the arena while I re-cleaned his stall. Got him and walked him around for a bit. Then I thought "Heyy, he hasn't seen daylight for about a month now, lets go eat some grass" So that is what we did and man was he happy!! So happy that he forgot he had a sore foot and wasn't limping ( LOL... horses...), he also got spooked a few times and cantered a circle around me........seriously putting weight on the injured foot? Not so injured hmmm..
Well anyway, I didn't have a chain on his nose and I didn't want to be caught in anything stupid he may do, so we went back to the barn. As soon as we left his precious grass he suddenly remembered that he has an injured foot and started limping... LOL oh boy..
 I cleaned the boy up, soaked and re-wrapped his foot. I saw the barn owner today and she suggested to put him on a hoof supplement (farriers formula), before I even said okay she said she will go pick some up today and that it is on her. Woah. So thankful for that :-D.
As I was went to go put Apollo in his stall, his girlfriend ( the mare in the stall next to him ) nickered to greet him. That mare is so in love with him, and he barely pays any attention to her ( he's in love with this chestnut mare who actually doesn't pay any attention to him loool) Anyway, I am in love with his neighbour ( the mare who is in love with Apollo). She such a sweet mare, gorgeous colour and prefect height for me (she's at least 17hh) honestly, I would buy her if  I had the money and IF she was for sale, I doubt I will ever see her on the market though. Oh well..
Whenever I go to Apollo's stall and give him a treat, I always give her one too. I managed to snap a picture of her, not a very good one (this was taken with my phone) but I will get a better one next time.

Honestly, can I PLEASE just have her ???? LOL. She would go so well with Apollo, dark bay almost black gelding and white mare!!! Is there a better combo out there than that?! Plus they actually like each other too, well she's IN LOVE and he just doesn't mind her LOL.
Oh well, I'll find my white/grey mare one day

My Horse IS Dark Bay, I Swear!!!

Went to go see the boy yesterday, check on him and his lovely foot and walk him around for a bit.
Once I got to the barn, I went straight to his stall and saw that his wrap that I put on 2 days ago was off!!! Ugh... great. He must of lost it somewhere, running around in the arena maybe. I got him out on the cross-ties and re-wrapped his foot.
I didn't have much time to spend with him so instead of grooming ( he was REALLY dirty but not from the mud, from the arena dust) I went straight to the arena with him so he can move around. Usually when I bring him in there he runs around like crazy and rolls, instead he didn't run, he just walked around and would stand where the windows were. He did do one thing that he ALWAYS does, is roll around in the arena dust and just enjoys life. lol I usually don't really like him when he rolls around in there because it takes sooo long to get it all off, actually it barely comes off!! The arena dust must have some kind of oils in it because it actually sticks to his hair, the only way to get him nice and clean is to give him a bath! Which will be soon :-)
My horse is a dark bay almost black but after he rolls and gets all the dust all over him, hes literally turns beige. LOL like this:
                                                 Apollo after a nice roll.

He doesn't actually look like that, honestly! This is his true colour/ when he is nice and clean lol :

There's my Mr. handsome lol.
Anyway, going to get him some hoof boots so he can be turned out with his buddies finally and he can feel more comfortable when walking until he grows some hoof protection himself :-).

My Wimpy Horse

Went to check on the boy yesterday. My new farrier said to get some puzzle mat foam so I can tape it under the injured foot which it would make it easier for him to walk especially on hard surfaces.
He was in his stall waiting for me, and it was so sad to see him walk ( i literally wanted to cry ) he was limping so badly. I just have to keep reminding myself though, that my horse is the wimpiest horse I have EVER met. lol seriously, even when he has little pain he acts like he is about to die, his head is down, eyes are slightly open and he doesn't move. LOL he just has a very low threshold. But once I wrapped up the foam to his hoof, he walked a bit better.
It was such a nice day yesterday and today, I would of loved to of tacked him up and just go on a trail ride. I hope I don't have to wait to long!!! Really riding from 3 times a week to none now, it's so odd..... haha. This is why I need a second horse ( hmmmm.. maybe for my 2nd anniversary LOL ) to keep me in shape.Hopefully in a month I can start doing some light riding and slowly getting him back into training and jumping :-D.

Waiting on The Day to Ride Again.....

Long day today at the barn. I went to go meet with a natural barefoot trimmer for my horse and talk a little bit about the benefits of it. Overall, it sounds great but it will be a little bit of a rough start since my horses' feet were shod, they may be very sensitive in the beginning without shoes.
Apparently,( I did not know this.... )shoes cause arthritis in horses when used for a long period of time. My mouth dropped and at the same time I'm relieved to find this out so I can stop that from happening. So horses feet naturally expand and contract as they are walking on the ground which also causes a lot of circulation in the hooves BUT* when there is a shoe nailed on, that expansion and contraction stops which obviously causes no blood to circulate in there! ( that is why when you touch a barefoot hoof it is HOT and when you touch a shod hoof it is COLD) I guess that shortage of circulation eventually causes the arthritis. 
Phew! I guess I'm off to a good start, after all horses weren't born with shoes. The only reason we started putting shoes on horses is because when they were used to pull carriages on concrete it would wear their feet down (since horses don't naturally walk on concrete). So why the hell have riders continued it???
Well anyway, after his shoes were taken off he is a little sensitive to the ground which is causing him to limp. I can't wait until the other owners at the barn start coming up to me and telling me I should put shoes back on since they are strong believers in shoes, and that my horse can never be barefoot because he doesn't have a healthy foot...................ugh horse owners.....
So again, I can't ride until he starts walking better and when he does, it will have to be light riding only. Great, let me tell you I haven't ridden for the past 3 weeks now since his injury and I may have to wait another 4 weeks before I get back into the saddle, which will probably kill my entire body especially my legs since I will be out of shape :-( . Maybe I'll contact my old coach, ride her horse maybe every other week just to keep me in shape and ready to ride my boy again. Hmmmm......

p.s. My horse isn't THIS bad honestly, the past few entries he sounds like a mess but really he's a healthy, fit and happy boy. Just all these things that had to happen one after the other all of a sudden lol.

Closer to Recovery!!

Well.. I went to see my boy yesterday, soak his injured foot and wrap it up. Walked him in the arena for a bit since he's been stuck in his stall for about a week now. Once we got into the arena, the boy went crazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzy. Haha I don't blame him but at 17.1hh which is about 68inches (from the ground to his wither which is excluding his head) that is fairly intimidating but after a good 40 minute walk with a lead chain he settled down :-).
Put  him back in his stall and got in touch with the farrier so he can put the shoe back on Apollo and finish his job. Honestly, if he is professional he shouldn't charge me, after all it is his fault for putting off my horse - well I guess I will find out tomorrow.
Hopefully when I see my boy tomorrow, he will be feeling better so I can finally get back into riding and getting him in shape. Fingers crossed :-).

Lame Week

So recenty I haven't been riding :-( and just taking care of my boys left hoof. He has been lame on it for the past 2 weeks.
What happened was that my boy threw his shoe (he was a week over due ) and my farrier came out the next day to do all his feet and put the shoe back on the left hoof. When he lost the shoe, I checked his left hoof and it was fine, he even was walking on it fine!
The next day I got a call from the farrier saying how he worked on all 3 feet and saved the left one for last, so he started working on it and his left hoof started bleeding!! He wrapped him up and put him back in his stall. He told me Apollo must of lost some hoof when he kicked off his own shoe.When we got off the phone the first thought that came into my head was " What the hell?! Seriously, shouldn't of he known?! He is a farrier, this is HIS job after all.." When he threw the shoe, he was fine! I truly think the farrier should of known that he lost some hoof and was thin soled! I am so disappointed and am considering switching to another farrier.
I don't even know what to do, whether I should pay him or not. I probably will but I surely do not want to.
My boy has healed up pretty well but I am still not riding him and he is still stuck in his stall :-(. He still needs a little more healing to go, but I am thinking by the end of this week, I can get back on his back!! :-D !!!!!
I will be taking advantage of his time off to try and find another farrier.

Intro

Sooo.. this blog that I am starting, I decided will be about my silly, four legged and handsome horse, Apollo. As a first time owner I have learned and will keep learning about the horse world. I just wanted to start a blog talking about the progress of my pony and just many different equine beliefs and things :-).

I guess I will start with the story of how I got my lovely boy Apollo.

As a young child, I had the biggest passion for horses, I drew them, I rode them and honestly, I just wanted to be them! I use to imagine myself as a young mare just running around in the field, haha I did have a big imagination as a child. So it was no surprise that I eventually wanted to own one. 

My search began about 2 years ago, at the time I was part boarding a lovely hanoverian/thoroughbred cross that honestly taught me everything, especially in the hunter world. I didn't really know what I was looking for but I knew I wanted something big since I am 5'9 and something cheap. There were plenty of horses I saw but nothing I really loved. I finally saw this ad of a bay thoroughbred named Mark and I fell inlove with his expression. So I made plans to go out and visit him, the place wasn't too nice looking but Markus had the nicest face and of course it was my first time buying so I completely fell in love.

Markus was an ex-racer so my coach at the time got on him and gave him a try. When she started cantering him, we were all very surprised that he lowered his head and gave his inside bend (since most racers aren't trained to this). He had such a beautiful canter, that made me fall in love even more. Anyway Markus was a done deal for me and I bought him. I ended up keeping him for about 6 months when I realized that he just wasn't' happy and really needed time off from the track and everything else had been through. So I made a tough decision to sell him, I knew what he needed and I knew I couldn't give that to him. I really wanted to ride and just didn't have the time and money to give him a year off and put my riding on a hold. I cried when he left but I know he is happy at his new place :-).

So then I was back to part-boarding until I found something of my own. As the months went by I realized what I truly wanted. Something dark in colour, black or as close to black as possible, something very tall and thick in body, gelding, somewhat young, somewhat trained and this time my budget was higher. 

I went to see a couple horses with my coach, fell inlove with this mare but she was swept right under my feet from another client (it was for the better though since it brought me to Apollo). As I did my searches I kept on bumping into this one ad which was Apollo's ad. At the time the ad never had great pictures of Apollo, so I never really fell in love with him right away. I remember when I would email the same ad and the previous owner would respond to me, I would think " UGH! these people again. How do I keep emailing them?!". So whenever they would respond I would never reply, I would just brush it off. 

Anyway so one day, my mom, my coach and I were coming back from a horse we just saw ( it went horribly! The mare and I did not get along at all!!) and my coach mentioned about this ad she saw the other day that looked great and told me to check my email.

So when I got home, I checked my email (this time they posted different pictures so I didn't know that it was Apollo's ad) and loved the pictures that they posted and emailed them. After they replied I realized that it was the same ad I kept bumping into but kept totally disregarding it! I couldn't believe it, that it was the same horse in the old picture as in the new one!! So I made a trip to go up there and see him. 

When we got there and saw him in person, I just couldn't believe how gorgeous and tall he was!! Even better than the pictures they took of him, he totally took my breathe away! ( goes to show not to judge a picture, go and see the actually horse!!!) The previous owner first rode him than I did. We totally and completely clicked!!! I loved it, I knew this horse was mine! Even the previous owner said how we both made a great team. He was everything I was looking for, 7 year old Thoroughbred (looks like a warmblood) 17.1hh dark bay almost black gelding!! Except his price was $15,000. Ya right, we were going to pay that much. 

After much negotiation the price was lowered to.......... $8,500!! Now being a student, how the hell was I going to get $8,500. Oh boy. I kept telling my boyfriend there is no way we could do this!! How the hell were we going to get that money!? How were we going to get Mr.Gorge( a nickname I gave him when I saw him for the first time haha). My boyfriend suggested a bank loan. Okay, great. I told him he was crazy!! The bank would never ever give me that much money!! He told me to give a go, so we did. Having no credit I needed 2 people to sign for me. One would be my mom, of course but who else?! My boyfriend finally came up with a "job" and made everything up. I was so scared that it wouldn't work. But... it did. We got the money, and funnily enough everything worked out in such a way my horse Apollo was coming home on the day of my and my boyfriend's 1st anniversary!! ( I told him early in the relationship how that would be a great anniversary gift) So it ended up being the gift I asked for and everything turned out great. The day my boy Apollo came was on a monday July 26th, 2010!!

I will never forget this story of him, it is truly special and without those risks we took, I probably wouldn't have Apollo. Much appreciation for my boyfriend being there for me too, Apollo wouldn't be here without you too!! Love my two boys a lot!!!!!! My two legged and four legged, haha ;)!! 

This is the first time Apollo arrived: